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The Chinese nationalist media outlet Global Times' unverified claim that China has set the international standards for kimchi has recently been refuted by various media organizations. But the issue has raised concern among Koreans who worry about the “kimchi paradox.” Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish but Koreans are increasingly consuming products made in China. Korea's exports of kimchi cont..

K-pop megastar BTS has achieved another milestone with its new song "Life Goes On," becoming the first Korean song to land at No. 1 on the Billboard's main singles chart. "'Life Goes On' officially debuts at No. 1 on this week's Hot 100," Billboard said in a Twitter post Monday (U.S. time), one day before the weekly chart will be refreshed. "'Life Goes On' is also the first Hot 100 No. 1 in the ..

Prosecution must do its utmost to seize ex-president's residence fully A Seoul court has put the brakes on the prosecution's move to seize former President Chun Doo-hwan's residence in western Seoul as a means to collect unpaid fines. The Seoul High Court ruled Friday that the entire residence cannot be seized although Chun, 89, refuses to pay the huge penalties. Partly accepting Chun's objectio..

TV celeb stirs debate over single women's right to IVF A Japanese TV personality living in Korea recently became a single mother by choice through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in her country of origin. In an interview with the state-run broadcaster KBS, Monday, Sayuri Fujita said she gave birth to a healthy baby Nov. 4 via the use of a sperm donor. The screenshot image of Fujita's smiling face h..

It is necessary to adopt fair property assessment method The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has presented a long-term plan to raise the government-assessed value for real estate, including apartments, through a more realistic appraisal method. Of the three options proposed at a public hearing Tuesday, the second option is mostly likely to be adopted, the ministry said. The second..

Logistics firms should end exploitation of workers Hanjin Transportation has decided to do away with overnight parcel delivery services starting next month. The decision by Korea's second-largest logistics company came amid growing social indignation over a recent series of deaths of delivery workers traceable to excessive workloads. The logistics arm of Hanjin Group will end overnight deliverie..

Xi deserves criticism for distorting Korean War fact Chinese leader Xi Jinping deserves criticism for his remarks apparently glorifying China's entry into the 1950-53 Korean War. He said China took part in the war to “resist U.S. aggression and aid (North) Korea.” He attacked the United States for its alleged pursuit of unilateral protectionism and extreme egoism, which he said will lead nowhere..

It's urgent to investigate possible links between deaths and vaccines Public anxiety over flu vaccines is running high as nine people have died after getting flu shots. While no direct links between the deaths and the vaccines have been confirmed yet, a growing number of people are calling hospitals and health centers to inquire about the safety of the vaccinations. A 17-year-old high school stu..

Romanized Korean can be found on the internet these days sprinkled throughout comments from adoring international fans of K-pop, inspired by the Korean lyrics from their favorite songs. For fans it's a way to communicate directly with their idols via such short and sweet cultural references. But considering that the Korean language is not widely used outside Korea, non-Koreans' use of it in thei..

Countermeasures needed to prevent deaths caused by overwork There have been a series of heartbreaking deaths of parcel delivery workers recently, allegedly from overwork. On Oct. 12, a delivery worker employed by Hanjin Express, surnamed Kim, was found dead at his home. Kim, 36, reportedly had few, if any, underlying health problems but complained to people around him of physical exhaustion caus..